1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to shrink sleeves and shrink labels for dispensers, especially vertical pump-up dispensers. This invention relates to a labeling process for providing uncluttered dispensers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Bottles are widely used in consumer goods industry for packaging various types of fluid products. Such bottles are normally decorated, often using labels which are stuck onto the bottle. Such labels are typically used not only for decoration but also to display usage instructions or information on the composition of the contents, for example. However, conventional labeling technology such as wet glue labels, self-adhesive labels, or in mold labels do not allow for decorating the full bottle surface area. The accumulation of such visual signals led the industry to develop new approaches allowing higher decoration coverage of the container's surface, one of these new approaches being the shrink-sleeving of packages.
Shrink-sleeving is mostly used in the drinks industry, whereby a sleeve of thermoplastic material may be shrunk all around a beverage bottle, thus offering an extended area which may be used for any type of graphics. Typical thermoplastic materials used for shrink sleeving include polyvinylchloride (PVC); low or high density polyethylene (LDPE, HDPE); polyester terephthalate (PET); polypropylene (PP) and oriented polypropylene (OPP); polystyrene (PS) and oriented polystyrene (OPS); and mixtures thereof.
The unique shrink sleeve of the invention is used on a dispenser, for example a vertical pump-up dispenser and allows the consumer to see both the actuator top in its raised position and its relationship to the fluid container base so the consumer can understand how the dispenser works. Compared to a box or shroud designed to provide protection for the dispenser, the shrink sleeve welcomes and invites consumers to pick up the product if they are curious about the shape because there is nothing obstructing the consumer from holding the dispenser up for view. Since the consumer is invited to pick up the dispenser, the dispenser must be secured from inadvertent activation. While most shrink sleeves are designed to provide tamper evidence, the shrink sleeve of the invention can discourage the consumer from inadvertently activating the pump by pressing down on the pump actuator.
The shrink sleeve allows a broad area for consumer use and advertising information that can be removed to provide a more pleasant visual experience on the counter-top without the consumer information creating a cluttered visual experience. When the shrink sleeve is opaque in its middle section and transparent in the upper and lower regions, the consumer can see the product color below the label information and the actuator profile above the label information. Where the label contains EPA registration and required regulatory warnings, safety information, directions for use including bilingual directions, or other required labeling information, the shrink sleeve provides a cost-effective way of meeting all information requirements on shelf but provides premium and uncluttered aesthetics at home when it is removed.
U.S. Pat. App. 2007/0087144 to Albenice et al. describes typical use of shrink sleeves for labels and tamper-proof closures. U.S. Pat. App. 2007/0087144 to Albenice et al. discloses a decorated shrink sleeve. U.S. Pat. App. 2005/0274687 to McCutchen discloses a shrink sleeve label that covers a portion of the bottle, a portion of the cap and the gap between the bottle and the cap. U.S. Pat. App. 2005/0039426 to Hidding discloses the use of colored shrink sleeves to differentiate bottles from one another. U.S. Pat. App. 2004/0011675 to Miller discloses a shrink sleeve member surrounding the periphery of a unitized platform and product on which indicia may be printed. U.S. Pat. App. 2005/035081 to Fitch discloses a beverage bottle with a security collar connected to the skirt by a frangible portion.
To overcome these problems of dispensers of the prior art, the shrink sleeve on the dispenser of the present invention is designed to allow the consumer to pick up the dispenser on the store shelf without premature actuation, to conveniently identify the actuator top, the actuator skirt and the container base, to read the necessary product information, and to remove most of the product information so that the dispenser has an aesthetically pleasing appearance in the home.